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New look at unclaimed money

The federal government would like to re-unite people with their money in inactive bank accounts.

But it also wants to balance that desire with the cost of regulating $710 million in unclaimed moneys.

As it stands now, money in idle bank accounts and unclaimed life insurance is transferred to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission after three years of inactivity.

Previously it was seven years.

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Finance Minister Mathias Cormann says the shorter period, introduced by Labor in 2012, has had a substantial impact on account holders and the financial services industry.

The industry has been forced to rapidly implement new and costly systems to cater for the changes.

A discussion paper released by the government on Monday, says it is not clear that the current arrangements strike an appropriate balance between re-uniting people with their money and the regulatory costs.